Scrapping Renewables Will Not Solve Australia’s Energy Challenge
Australia’s energy debate continues to move from policy discussion to political theatre.
At the National Press Club, Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, used a wide-ranging address to attack several areas of government policy, including the direction of Australia’s energy system. (1) One Nation has long argued for winding back renewable energy targets, subsidies and government support for the transition. It is a simple message and, for households frustrated by electricity bills, it can sound appealing.
Electricity prices are high. Grid investment has been slower than it should have been. Transmission projects are difficult. Communities are not always properly consulted. Some renewable projects have been badly managed. But none of that proves renewables have failed.
to us it proves that Australia is trying to rebuild an ageing energy system while still keeping the lights on every day. That was never going to be easy, and we knew that.
The Real Question
The real question is not whether Australia should build new energy infrastructure. It must.
But coal-fired power stations are ageing and are being closed on economic grounds. Demand is also changing. Households are electrifying. Businesses are looking for cleaner and more reliable energy. Data centres, industry and transport will all add pressure to the system.
So the choice is not between change and no change.
The choice is between investing in the lowest cost, most flexible technologies available, or spending more money defending an old system that still needs replacing.
That is where the anti-renewables argument begins to fall apart.
CSIRO’s GenCost work, produced with the Australian Energy Market Operator, continues to show that renewables are among the lowest cost options for new electricity generation in Australia. (2) This does not mean power bills fall instantly. Consumers (us) still pay for networks, poles, wires, firming, retail margins and legacy infrastructure.
But it does mean that walking away from renewables, would not automatically make energy cheaper. In fact, it could do the opposite by increasing uncertainty, delaying investment and forcing more capital into older, higher-cost forms of generation.
Batteries Are Now Central Infrastructure
The Cheaper Home Batteries Program has now ticked over its first year, having commenced on 1 July 2025. (3)
The program supports eligible households and small businesses with a discount on small-scale battery systems connected to new or existing rooftop solar. The stated discount is around 30 per cent, delivered through the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.
The milestone highlights the growing role household batteries are playing in Australia's energy transition. More than 450,000 home batteries have now been installed, meaning around one in every 17 Australian homes has battery storage. As battery costs continue to fall and incentives reduce upfront costs, adoption is expected to accelerate, strengthening the grid while creating opportunities across battery technology, software, Virtual Power Plants and energy management.
That is not a fringe policy. It is distributed energy infrastructure. At scale, they can also reduce evening peak demand, improve grid flexibility and support Virtual Power Plants.
For investors, this is important because the battery opportunity extends well beyond the household device. It includes installers, software, aggregators, inverters, grid services, financing, maintenance and energy management platforms.
The investment case is not just about solar panels on roofs. It is about the system that connects, stores and monetises that energy.
The Solar Sharer Offer Is a Smarter Use of the Grid
The Solar Sharer Offer begins now and is another example of policy moving in the right direction.
The program provides eligible households in Default Market Offer areas with three hours of free electricity in the middle of the day. (4) It is available in New South Wales, South Australia and South East Queensland, with the government working with other jurisdictions on potential expansion.
The logic is straightforward.
Australia now produces a large amount of solar energy during the day. At times, the system has more cheap solar power than it can efficiently use. The Solar Sharer Offer encourages households to shift energy use into those periods. That could mean running a dishwasher, charging an electric vehicle, using a washing machine, heating water or charging a home battery during the free-power window.
The government’s announcement said the offer will be optional and available to households with or without rooftop solar, whether they rent or own their home. (5) It also stated that the policy can help reduce evening peak demand and improve grid stability. This is exactly the type of reform Australia needs more of.
But even then, just think about it. When ever has Australia had FREE power when there has been access to electricity? We will spare you the google search…. Never.
The next stage of the energy transition is not just about building more generation. It is about matching demand with supply, rewarding flexibility and using infrastructure more efficiently.
Where the System Can Improve
None of this means the current system is perfect.
Transmission remains too slow. Planning approvals are inconsistent. Community engagement needs to be better. Regional benefit sharing must be clearer. Policy design should avoid waste and ensure subsidies fall away when industries mature. There is also a risk that consumers who cannot afford solar, batteries or smart appliances are left behind. Programs such as Solar Sharer help address that by giving more households access to the benefits of cheap daytime solar, but more work is needed.
Australia also needs better coordination between federal and state governments. The energy system does not operate neatly along political boundaries. Capital needs certainty, and uncertainty increases the cost of investment. These are implementation problems.
They are not a logical arguments for scrapping renewables.
The Investor Opportunity
For environmental investors, the policy noise can be distracting, even though the long-term direction is clear..
Australia still needs large amounts of capital across renewable generation, battery storage, transmission, demand response, smart meters, software, electrification and grid services. AEMO’s Integrated System Plan sets out the scale of investment required as ageing coal generation retires and the National Electricity Market transitions towards firmed renewable energy. (6)
The opportunity is not limited to one technology. It includes the physical infrastructure that generates and stores energy, the digital systems that optimise it, and the financial structures that fund it.
This is where environmental investing becomes more than a values-based decision. It is an allocation to a structural economic transition. And it has decades to run. Though the political debate will continue. It always does.
But policy usually follows economics over time. On that basis, the case for renewables, storage and smarter energy systems remains stronger than the case for turning back.
The Bottom Line
Pauline Hanson is right to identify that many Australians are frustrated with energy prices. But the frustration is not an energy policy.
Scrapping renewables would not remove the need to replace ageing generation, build storage, improve networks or manage changing demand. It would simply delay the investment required and risk making the transition more expensive.
The better answer is to improve the transition. The Cheaper Home Batteries Program shows how households can become part of the energy system. The Solar Sharer Offer shows how abundant daytime solar can be shared more efficiently. Both policies did and will have flaws and will need refinement, but the direction is right. For investors in this space, that is the key point.
The energy transition will not move in a straight line. It will be debated, criticised and occasionally mishandled. But the underlying drivers remain intact. But Australia still needs cleaner, cheaper, and more flexible energy infrastructure.
That is where the opportunity remains.
References
(1) Tregenza H, ABC News, Pauline Hanson lays out vision to end multiculturalism in press club address crashed by GetUp, 17 June 2026. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-17/pauline-hanson-press-club-address-banner-stunt-one-nation/106808570
(2) CSIRO, GenCost 2024-25 Final Report, December 2024. https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/energy/gencost
(3) Vorrath S, Renew Economy, One in 17 Australian homes now has a solar battery as total installs sail past 450,000 at one-year mark, 2 July 2026.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/one-in-17-australian-homes-now-has-a-solar-battery-as-total-installs-sail-past-450000-at-one-year-mark/
(4) Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Solar Sharer Offer, 2026. https://www.energy.gov.au/rebates/solar-sharer-offer
(5) Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Solar Sharer Offer to cut electricity bills, 23 January 2026. https://www.energy.gov.au/news/solar-sharer-offer-cut-electricity-bills
(6) Australian Energy Market Operator, Integrated System Plan, 2024. https://aemo.com.au/energy-systems/major-publications/integrated-system-plan
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